16 diverse, captivating highlights from the 2nd half of June 2026

Some bands explode onto the scene with a massive debut album. Others take their time and establish their name with a string of excellent singles/EPs and explosive live shows before launching their first full length. UK trio Exploring Birdsong took definitely the latter road and just like everything they put out before like the 2019’s “The Thing With Feather” EP and the 2023 “Dancing in the Face of Danger” EP, their first long form release called “Every House We Built” is of exceptional quality, as we came to expect from them. If anything, their melodies have become even more smoother, with luscious swathes of synths and piano swirls over a bubbly. flamboyant as ever rhythm section building the fluffy, feathery, yet occasionally also quite meaty/djenty foundation. This has been a long time coming, but it was well worth the wait. Dario

Few voices pierce into my soul no matter what they utter just like Ulver’s Kristoffer Rygg and his dark, warm timbre. Lately, I’ve discovered that Hexvessel’s Mat McNerney is able to unleash a similarly powerful emotional spell on me. To say I was excited when I learned they would trade vocal duties on an album would be a gravely massive understatement. “All Tomorrow’s Darkness” by Liminal Sky, the natural successor of UK atmospheric post folk rockers Messenger (“Threnodies”, 2016) delivers and absolutely spellbinding work of Opeth-ian “Damnation” melancholy, enhanced with subtle Noir Jazz touches and Jeff Buckley vibes that should leave no feeling soul untouched and no dry eye in the house. The darkness is already here. No need to wait until tomorrow. Messenger is dead, long live Liminal Sky! Dario

With at least two bands of this RotW edition starting out their albums with a rather mellow track, only to pick up the pace shortly after (Loneshore & Gold Spire), we’re suddenly faced with almost the opposite approach. We’re confronted not only with ‘Intense Warmth’, but also with intense Progressive Death Metal at the onset of Entropist’s debut album “The Vision”. Until the second half of ‘The Ritual’ that is, when things open up and, excuse the pun, their vision becomes something much bigger. That vision actually gets proggier (and also more melodic) as it progresses throughout the second and third quarter of the album. The fourth quarter is remaining reserved for the singular Progressive Metal masterpiece ‘Revelation’ that completely earns its merits and its title over its fourteen minute runtime. It seals the deal and makes “The Vision” easily the best Progressive Metal album of the second half of June 2026. Wait, this is a debut album? Impossible! Dario

I first encountered Fernando Molinari’s accomplished, even virtuoso skills on the bass when I discovered the breathtaking TrotaMundo EP “EVA” last year. Now he’s back with a brand new EP under his very own name called “Numen” and I’ve got to say that each of these five songs are absolute fusion metal bangers! Some parts remind me of Derek Sherinian’s wonderful “Black Utopia” times, while ‘Gemina’ thrives on modern Cello meets Piano Fusion sounds. The EP then closes with some banging Instrumental Prog Metal in the form of ‘Marte’, but as a whole, I can’t stress enough how much Fernando Molinari single- (or double?) handedly won Fusion Metal in 2026. By a mile and then some. Mandatory listening for any Jazz fan who loves Progressive Metal. Or the other way around. Doesn’t matter. Anyhow, this is world-class stuff! Dario

The first part of June already yielded excellent new releases from big Post Rock names like Oh Hiroshima and Mono. Million Moons from the UK have been sneaking up on them though and threw their hat in the ring for best Post Rock album of June 2026 with their third full length offer, “You Be Good, I Love You”. And as far as I am concerned, with my quite particular taste in regards to Post Rock affairs, they emerge triumphant from the friendly battle. Powerful and uplifting, yet naturally sophisticated and thoughtful, the instrumental mix of the London based quartet strikes an excellent balance between atmosphere and energy, keeping up the impeccable quality throughout the entirety of the record’s 54 minutes runtime. Post Rock touchdown with a wholesome title. Whats not to love? Dario

If it wasn’t for our premiere of Brazil’s up and coming Atmospheric Post/Prog Metal quintet Loneshore’s single ‘To Stride the Black Earth’, they might have had me fooled with the Pure Reason Revolution vibes of ‘Self Oscillations’, the opening track to their second album, “Nothing Left to Deconstruct”. What unfolds after that is indeed a pure, sprawling Post Metal cosmos, culminating in the monumental, yet intricate ‘Birth of a Mountain’. A masterful balance of melodies, atmosphere, complexity and the crushing weight of Post Metal. Nothing left to criticize. Dario

Not entirely unlike Loneshore’s album “Nothing Left To Deconstruct” (see above), Gold Spire’s new album “Steps into Shadow” opens with a song that might lull you into a false sense of security. What starts as somber noir doom jazz with ‘Starvation’ unfolds into a colourful (sepia-tinged, mind you), death/doom epic with the title track and beyond that manages to drag you into a dark world of wonders. The atmosphere conveyed through lush guitar arrangements, keys and sometimes multiple saxophones lets you bath in pure melancholy. Magnus Kjellstrand’s saxophone really is the melodic lead instrument here throughout the entire album, and its wailing dirge is one I seriously can’t get enough of. Autumnal bliss. Dario

Daniel Tompkins playing with some more electronic sounds beside his main gig with TesseracT is nothing new under the sun (Zeta/White Moth Black Butterfly). Neither is his collaboration with Chimp Spanner’s Paul Ortiz. This creative partnership has now culminated in the brand new project called Prince of Failure and its self-titled debut album, exploring accessible, polished Alternative Metal sounds wrapped in concise, mainstream palatable songwriting. The hugely cathartic themes Tompkins is processing here are still shining through, maybe not even despite but because of its mostly streamlined nature. Fans of his work who don’t need the craziest polyrhythms for their musical happiness will find plenty to their liking here. Dario

Times have been turbulent for Norwegian Jazz Rockers of red kite lately. Be it deaths, health issues or the disappearance of a beloved cat. But “This Too Shall Pass”, eh? Funnily enough, I love it best whenever the four Norwegians go all dirgy like in the ‘Requiem for Bolla’ and the final, universal mournful melody of ‘All’s Well That Ends’, reconciling me with this very special album after its quite unwieldy middle part. Dario

A colourful bouquet of Avantgarde Fusion Metal weirdness comes from Munich based drummer and composer Andy Lind  (The Ancestry Program) in the form of a little in-between album release called “Shallow Hearts In Plastic Skies” that is intended to bridge the gap between his previous album “A 3rd Ear Conversation” and the new one, already waiting in the wings for an autumn release this year. But if this is his material from the cutting room floor that he’s collected and polished up for this release, what kind of craziness are we in for with the next full official release? Oh boy, that’s gonna be a smorgasbord of odd meters and advanced harmonics. Dario

French Instrumental Post Rockers Drawing Hills present a rather explosive little EP with “Lueurs”. The contrast from intricate arrangements to massive walls of sound works best in the final ‘Resurgence’, that will certainly make any dedicated Post-listener curious about what they will come up with next. Dario

Cinematic Western Post Prog from Finland? Well, the Onségen Ensemble has made themselves very comfortable in this very peculiar niche. Four years after their absolutely gorgeous album “Realms”, the ensemble is setting out to tell us “A Tale”. And a very epic one at that. Or rather seven epic tales. Led by the evocative, dark timbre of vocalist Vilma Pesola (‘A Thought’!), you just need to close your eyes for the movie to start in your head. Dario

Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Nick Cave meet Dark Gothic Folk? Could ‘First of Hyacinth’ be the title track to an imaginary Jim Jarmusch James Bond movie? The Infinity Ring’s darkly enigmatic, strangely poetic third album “The Isle of Skye” seems to be all that – and more. Autumn is not quite here yet, but this should get you in the mood right away. Dario

More (mostly) acoustic folky stuff comes from the Netherlands with Iskandr’s new album “Sacraal”. Not quite sure where to put the quite different pace and feel of the repetitive electronic rhythm of the latter end of ‘Zonsonderkomst’, but elsewhere this album evokes atmospheres that are at the same time ethereal as well as channeling the spiritual worlds of nature. Almost sacral you might say. Dario

Completing the Post Rock quartet of June 2026 (which also includes Oh Hiroshima and Mono from last edition and Million Moons further up here), is French quartet Lost in Kyiv (formerly Lost in Kiev), who not only updated their name and line-up, but also their musical approach to something more direct, heavy and modern. Some added brass harmonies are always a welcome addition in this kind of Instrumental Post Rock/Metal, I’m not sure however how exactly the vocal feature on ‘Becoming’ really fits into the big picture. In itself a great song, but naturally sticking out a bit among all these instrumental vibes. Be that as it may, “We’re All Going to Be Fine”. Dario

One band on the sometimes proggy fringes of Alternative Rock and Pop that certainly doesn’t need our help promoting their music are the superstars of Muse. Not mentioning that they are opening their new, tenth album – going by the somewhat cringey title “The Wow! Signal” – with the little gothic western symphony that is ‘The Dark Forest’ would be a gross omission on our part. Elsewhere on the album, the trio is presenting their tried and tested mix of falsetto pop bangers – sometimes to greater (‘Nightshift Superstar’), sometimes to lesser success (‘Be With You’ despite the organ) – and gorgeous, spacey, epic ballads (‘Shimmering Scars’, the final ‘Space Debris’). Definitely worthy a separate mention are the occasional gnarly, funky bass lines by the amazing Chris Wolstenholme. The best Muse album since “The Resistance”? Quite possibly. A great, adventurous, musically very fulfilling ride? Without a single doubt! Dario